Mike Lynch yacht sinking latest: Tribute to ‘diamond in sea of stars’ Hannah as manslaughter investigation launched

Friends of Recaldo “Rick” Thomas have paid tribute to their ‘brave’ and ‘selfless’ friend who was found in the water near the superyacht Bayesian.

“Rick could have jumped off and survived, I have no doubt about that. But he wouldn’t have left people on board and just swum away,” his friend Gareth Williams told The Sunday Times.

“I read that the first mate was quite young, Rick would have said to him, ‘Get off the boat, man, I am here, I got this.’ That’s just who he was.”

He added: “He had this infectious smile and a sultry, baritone voice. He was the type of person you could sit in a room with — no TV, no music playing, and just be. You didn’t have to say a word. You just enjoy his company.”

Susannah Gurdun, a close family friend of the Lynch’s from Suffolk, shared a series of heartfelt stories about Mike Lynch and who he was beyond being one of Britain’s biggest tech moguls.

Ms Gurdun told of his “thrilling ability” to explain difficult and complicated concepts in a way people could easily understand.

His wife, Angela Bacares, and his daughters were telling Ms Gurdun of his ability to “conjure beautiful stories out of thin air”.

The following evening, Mr Lynch told a story as the dinner plates were cleared about a hero, who was the same age as Ms Gurdun’s son, embarking on adventures in search of treasure. She called it “magical”.

She added that she was not surprised to learn that Hannah had begun showing “serious literary promise”.

Public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said he thought it was “probable that offences were committed” surrounding the sinking of the yacht.

He told reporters that the sinking could have been the responsibility of the captain, crew, individuals in charge of supervision, the ship-builder, or others.

He added: “We will establish each element’s responsibility – that will be done by the inquiry, so we can’t do that prematurely.

“For me, it is probable that offences were committed – that it could be a case of manslaughter – but we can only establish that if you give us the time to investigate.

“Media timing is completely different from that of a prosecutor. We need a minimum amount of time to come to a proper scientific conclusion.”

No information has yet been gleaned from an examination of the seven people who died, the prosecutor of the case has said.

In response to a question about whether post-mortem examinations have been carried out, Raffaele Cammarano told a press conference in Italy: “There are a whole number of preliminary stages to go through before the autopsies.”

The yacht had been hit by a downburst and the the Italian officials said they would be looking at how it could affect one vehicle and not other nearby vessels, according to the translation of the conference.

The inquiry is currently an Italian affair with local involvement, but chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said: “I cannot tell you with any certainty that the inquiry will be exclusively Italian.”

He added: “There will be developments, I’m sure, on that score.”

Italian public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, from nearby town Termini Imerese, said his office has opened an initial investigation into manslaughter and negligent shipwreck. No specific suspects have been named, so far.

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The daughter of tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who died with her father on the luxury superyacht Bayesian, has been described as a “diamond in a sea of stars” by a survivor from the tragedy.

Sasha Murray, chief stewardess of the Bayesian who is understood to have been rescued from the yacht, said: “Those who knew her will know that Hannah was a diamond in a sea of stars. Bright, beautiful and always shining.

“What most people may not have seen was the extraordinarily strong, deep and loving relationship she shared with her parents, whom she adored more than anything.

“While swimming with them she often said, if anything ever happened she would save them.

“I have no doubt that the Irish, Latina fire that burns in her soul kept that spirited determination alive.”